Indian clerics accuse Pakistan daily of calling them RAW agents, thanks Modi govt

Pakistani newspaper Ummat had reported that the clerics worked for Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) movement.

New Delhi: The two Indian clerics, including the head priest of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, who went missing in Pakistan last week, returned to New Delhi on Monday.

Syed Asif Ali Nizami, 80, and his nephew Nazim Ali Nizami, both clerics of Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, landed at the airport here on Monday morning and later went to their home. They were welcomed at the airport by their family members and a group of well-wishers.

Amir Nizami, the son of Syed Asif Nizami, alleged that the duo were "taken away" based on a news report in a local Urdu daily which claimed that they had links with Indian intelligence agency RAW.

Asked if Pakistan spy agency ISI was involved in the episode, he refused to comment but made it clear that "no force was used" against them.

The duo thanked the governments of India and Pakistan for their safe return.

Nazim Ali Nizami, one of the clerics, did reject Pakistani media reports that they were in "interior Sindh where there was no communication network".

"We did not have visa for Sindh interior region, so how could we have gone there? We come from the school of sufi which teaches peace and brotherhood. There are good and bad elements and those who go against the teachings they have to suffer humiliation," he told reporters.

He further told the reporters: "We had gone to meet my aunt who is 90 and lives in Karachi. My uncle met his sister after 26 long years."

"There is a newspaper Ummat (in Pakistan) which has printed false statements (of the two clerics being R&AW spies) and photos."

When asked as to why they were "interrogated", Nazim said they were asked about their visa and other immigration details.

Both Nazim and Syed Asif Nizami, who is the head priest of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, "thanked" the Indian and the Pakistani governments for their return to the homeland.

"We thank Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and well-wishers from all religions who prayed for our return," they told reporters.

"Irrespective of our different religions, we all live here peacefully and in harmony. But there are some elements who don`t like this," he said.

The two later met Swaraj.

On a visit to Data Darbar in Lahore, the two clerics went missing on March 15.